Employability Skills in Hospitality Sector: A Travelodge Case Study

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Running Head: EMPLOYBILITY SILLS IN HOSPITALITY SECTOR
EMPLOYABILITY SILLS IN HOSPITALITY SECTOR

EMPLOYBILITY SILLS IN HOSPITALITY SECTOR
Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Developing a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives..................................4
1.2 Evaluation of own effectiveness against defined objectives..................................................4
1.3 Making recommendations for improvement..........................................................................5
1.4 Reviewing the ways in which motivational techniques that can be used to improve
performance quality.....................................................................................................................5
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Developing solution for work-based problem.......................................................................7
2.2 Addressing the communication style for different levels......................................................7
2.3 Identifying the effective time management strategies...........................................................8
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................9
3.1 Roles that play in a team and the different ways they can work together to achieve shared
goal...............................................................................................................................................9
Action oriented roles................................................................................................................9
People-oriented roles................................................................................................................9
3.2 Analyzing the team dynamics................................................................................................9
3.3 Suggesting alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals..............................10
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................11
4.1 Evaluating the tools and methods to develop solutions for the problems with Travelodge
Hotel...........................................................................................................................................11
4.2 Developing an appropriate strategy for resolving a specific problem of labor turnover with
reference to Travelodge Hotel....................................................................................................12
4.3 Evaluating the potential impact on the business of implementing the strategy...................13
Financial impacts....................................................................................................................13
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Non financial impacts.............................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................15
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Task 1
1.1 Developing a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives
The Travelodge Hotel managers have a set of responsibilities recovered for proper functioning
from the organizational perspective. Following are the primary responsibilities
Establishing communication and motivation among employees – The managers have to
ensure that the people do not feel isolated while working for the company. Moreover, the
employees must also develop motivation and interest towards their work (Adeyinka-Ojo, 2018).
Customer satisfaction and effective leadership – The actions of the workers working for
Travelodge Hotel must provide adequate level of customer satisfaction. This can be obtained
after implementing a highly effective leadership at all levels while delivering the services.
Establishing safety and wellbeing – The managers of Travelodge Hotel must ensure that proper
well being and safety of physical and mental states of the employees is provided by the
management. It will encourage the employees to work dedicatedly and harder.
1.2 Evaluation of own effectiveness against defined objectives
The following mentioned qualities and characteristics concept of the on effectiveness against the
performance objectives that are required while working.
Successful meeting of customer requirements – The management of Travelodge Hotel is
popular among its customers to deliver best services as per the customers’ demands. I have good
communication and interactive skills that enable me to understand the customers’ requirements
that further help me provide satisfaction through my hospitality service.
Display of proper communication and leadership – I possess necessary leadership qualities
required to lead a team while working towards objective. I am capable of communicating with
employees rightly and deal with their complaints regarding work. I communicate with my
subordinates regarding feedbacks and areas of improvement.
Inducing inspiration and motivation – I can motivate my team members so that they can work
using the best potential levels. I believe in inspiring my subordinates through my own actions by
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following the company’s vision in order to obtain the mission. This has helped me a lot to meet
the customers’ requirements and deliver them a satisfactory experience.
1.3 Making recommendations for improvement
Following are the recommendations on the areas of improvement that can enhance my level of
effectiveness of in the future while dealing with the customers.
Establishment of bottom to up communication – The communication between employees
belonging to different hierarchical levels within the Travelodge Hotel operational structure needs
to be established in a much effective way. The bonds shared by the employees of different levels
must be made stronger that will encourage mutual cooperation along with strengthening of bond
encouraging the employees to put in their combined efforts.
Encouragement of customers’ feedback – The feedback delivered by the customers of
Travelodge Hotel give a clear idea about the customers’ preferences and the areas of
improvement. Hence, this must be encouraged and proper analysis needs to be done after
receiving the feedbacks to identify the scopes of improving the services. There should be a well
organized set of questions to be answered by the customers while producing feedback.
Introduction of participative leadership – The employees from every hierarchical levels must
be allowed to form their opinions and put in their suggestions towards designing and executing
the action plan for future. The most prominent benefit is that the communication gap between
employees of different levels is reduced. Moreover, it also gives a much better and clearer
perspective about making the right decision to work towards the goals.
1.4 Reviewing the ways in which motivational techniques that can be used to
improve performance quality
Any mental force that drives an individual to work dedicatedly towards a particular objective is
known as motivation. As per Jaykumar, (2018), motivation is among the most essential elements
that an individual requires in order to perform at his or her best potential. There are various
sources from where a person can gain motivation. The employees working for the Travelodge
Hotel Company also have various reasons to stay motivated because the company leadership has
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multiple techniques to motivate them. Following are some of the most popular techniques used at
Travelodge Hotel to keep the employees motivated.
Bonus and incentives – Extra bonus and incentives are also provided to the employees for
performing exceptionally well in terms of achieving targets about customer satisfaction. It
encourages the employees to perform better those further increases their individual productivity
level apart from benefiting the company. The employees also find a competitive spirit resulting
into implementing better and more creative ways of working.
Cash schemes – The Travelodge Hotel Company provides many cash benefits to its employees
on the basis of factors like performance and consistency. The cash rewards that employees
receive after displaying is superior level of performance act as highly motivating factors that it
helps them do better during subsequent performances. The cash rewards at Travelodge Hotel are
also delivered to the employees based on team performances.
Insurance and other attractive facilities – The Company has several provision for its
employees about having insurance for self and family like free of cost treatment and other
medical benefits. The Travelodge Hotel organization also provides casual breaks along with
maternity leaves and holiday incentives for working extra hours and on holidays. It also includes
free holiday tour packages with family for a specific duration.
Proper training and development – The Travelodge Hotel has a well organized schedule of
training for 6 months where the employees are motivated to do their best while serving the
customers. The employees are trained with psychological techniques to deal with all types of
customers and provide the best possible stay at their Hotel facilities. They are also encouraged to
develop a better reputation of the company so that the customers visit again.
Work environment – Mutual cooperation and bonding among the employees is encouraged at
Travelodge Hotel. The employees working individually or in a team are taught to work together
towards a common goal so that they can learn from each other and also reduce the chances of
conflicts. The Hotel management insurance best safety measures for the employees.
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Task 2
2.1 Developing solution for work-based problem
The management has identified multiple areas where the employees face some issues while
working for the company. The most prominent problem that the employees face according to the
opinion of Arasli et al. (2015) is mutual communication while working. The employees often
belong from different backgrounds and are likely to possess different personalities that
sometimes create issues while interacting. The management of Travelodge Hotel has also
observed time management as a major concern among the employees during some specific
seasons. This generally happens because of the high volume of tourists visiting the Hotels during
the holiday seasons. As described by Ali et al. (2018), cooperative teamwork also require
struggle and hard work by the employees because of the differences in opinions and experiences.
The Hotel Travelodge needs to set some mandatory standards to be followed by every employee
along with some strict regulations that the workers have to adhere to. The duties need to be
flexible for all the employees including the work hours and specific role given to an employee.
Moreover, the management also needs to encourage team building activities so that the
employees can understand each other’s opinions and act accordingly to deliver best results for
the organization. It also helps them learn from their activities by gaining necessary experiences.
2.2 Addressing the communication style for different levels
Respected Sir,
This is to inform you about the existing system of communication among the employees
belonging to different levels. It has been observed that the employees need to communicate with
each other verbally and nonverbally while carrying out their work related activities. Hence, it is
important that both the types of communications are established in the most appropriate way.
The existing methods of communicating can be improved further so that our organization
received the maximum benefits. In addition to this, the employees will also get to learn about
new things and we'll be able to execute their activities in a more appropriate way. We need to
develop interpersonal skills among the employees so that they know each other’s qualities and
help each other work upon their areas of improvement. They will also learn the best things from
each other which will increase their confidence and will help in strengthening the bond among
them. I believe that we can set training sessions for employees of different levels and enlighten
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them with the best techniques of dealing with customers will surely. It is very important that our
togetherness is displayed to the customers so that it creates a good impression about our
company in the minds of our customers. Hence, I request you to allow me to design the different
communication styles for several levels in our company so that the performance of employees at
every level can be enhanced through training and practice.
Yours sincerely,
Wilson
2.3 Identifying the effective time management strategies
Time management according to many experts including Ali et al. (2017) has been considered as
the most important factor that can make an organization succeed in its operations. Proper time
management helps a company achieve its goals and objectives within the right time which is
highly important for customer satisfaction. An organization can easily manage its activities and
time by analyzing its long term and short term objectives carefully. The Human Resource
Department also needs to provide adequate training and practices to the trainees in order to teach
those several efficient techniques of time management. According to Alhelalat, (2015), the
customers in the existing business market do not prefer waiting too long for any product or
service. Hence, instant services are to be provided to gain more customers and retain them for
longer duration. The Hotel Travelodge provides online services for booking that saves a lot of
time on the customers. Moreover, it also provides a 24/7 telephonic customer service and
assistance that helps the customers deal with any query. The serviced staff members need
adequate training so that they can finish their task within the provided deadline. As described by
Nachmias and Walmsley, (2015), the leaders can set a strict deadline for the staff members in
order to complete any task without compromising the quality. Another time management
strategy is to provide some incentive to the employees for completing all the tasks within the
provided time and not compromising with the quality. There are some organizations that believe
in hard management and therefore they impose fines on their employees for missing the
deadlines. However, the Hotel Travelodge uses the soft skills that have been very successful
since the last few years in terms of better time management as the employees are able to receive
and entertain more customers in a short duration.
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Task 3
3.1 Roles that play in a team and the different ways they can work together to
achieve shared goal
Following are the several types of roles that are played by team members of during handling any
project at the Hotel Travelodge
Action oriented roles
Implementer – The team members play the role of implementer because they actually work on
the ground and turn their ideas planned into workable actions along with turning the
opportunities into organization’s strength.
Shaper – A senior level team members shape the activities at Travelodge Hotel so that the team
members working on ground can deal with every challenging scenario to meet the ultimate
objective of the company.
People-oriented roles
Coordinator – Proper coordination among the employees are maintained by the supervisors and
managers so that the overall performance of workers can be enhanced while serving the
customers.
Team worker – Mutual cooperation is highly encouraged in order to deliver best results by
working together for the customers and the company as it results into better reputation of the
organization and increases customer loyalty towards it.
3.2 Analyzing the team dynamics
The teams dynamics can be understand by carrying out a proper analysis using the Tuckman’s
theory of team building. As per this theory, there are four stages namely forming, storming,
Norming and performing according to which the team leadership and members act. This is a
highly efficient theory for developing an efficient team for long term growth and success of a
company. Following are the details about the four steps of this theory.
Forming – The first step is about having a group meeting among the team members and decides
about the targets to be made by the organization. As per the targets, the responsibilities are
decided for every team. The leaders at Travelodge Hotel play an important role because the team
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members are not aware of the responsibilities and the leaders have to make it clear to them
before allocating the tasks.
Storming – The second stage named as storming is about collecting ideas and going to a
thorough brainstorming process in order to analyze the effectiveness of those ideas. The
employees work together towards a common goal as teams and think about the best strategies
that can help them meet their objectives. The leaders might have to conduct small preliminary
analysis in order to decide the best idea to be implemented.
Norming – This step is the next step after Storming where the team members are absolutely
clear about their respective responsibilities to be performed. The different ideas are successfully
under execution and majority of the work is under progress in this step. The main objective of
the third step is to establish a proper ground work so that the actual performance can be executed
smoothly.
Performing – The final stage is performing where the organization starts conducting its
operations after developing the teams successfully. At this stage, every individual is working
with his or her own responsibility in the most appropriate way. Adequate feedbacks also
connected by different sources including customers to identify the areas that are performing well
and those that require some improvement followed by necessary actions.
3.3 Suggesting alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals
Multiple ways have been suggested by experts that can be used by any organization to complete
the allocated tasks and achieve the desired objectives and goals. The most important techniques
of task completion and achieving team goals have been mentioned below.
Framing – The framing stage consists of staff members of the Travelodge Hotel that come
together and develop ideas for road map about their future course of action. They think it
different that they need to achieve and the ways they will choose to achieve them.
Siding – The ideas are then fabricated by the senior management and leaders in a proper
sequence as per the timeline and systematic form of objectives to be met. The effect of each
activity on the other is carefully analyzed before making a final road map of action.
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Painting – The management provides every necessary help to the Employees and ground staff
members working at the Hotel premises for serving the customers. Every plan is properly
decided before execution including the Hotel representatives interacting with customers.
Inspection – Regular inspection is conducted by the management to check the efficiency of
work delivered by the employees. This is a highly important parameter because any lack of
quality while delivering the services can bring negative feedbacks from the customers.
Shipping – The management and working team members of Travelodge Hotel need to execute
every stage of planning in the most reliable manner. This will help them serve more customers
using limited resources without any compromise in terms of service quality.
Task 4
4.1 Evaluating the tools and methods to develop solutions for the problems with
Travelodge Hotel
Every Hotel or hospitality and tourism industry has to face some problems while conducting is
operations. There are several issues that the team members and leaders of Travelodge Hotel face
while delivering appropriate services to the customers. There is a concerning problem for this
organization as the employee turnover rate is high compared to other competitors. This is mainly
because of the absence of healthy competition and clear perspectives about team roles among the
employees. Hence, the management level authorities of Travelodge have formed a report on
turnover rate of the company. As opined by Le et al. (2018), the employees can be reduced by
using several methods within a hospitality sector organization. Following are some of the
effective tools that can reduce employee turnover statistics for any company that is suffering
from this issue.
Effective selection of candidates – The Travelodge Hotel management and human resource
department needs a new set of activities and qualities that will be tested before selecting any
candidate finally for a job. Caruana and Mcpherson, (2015) have stated that the employees who
are passionate about saving people in hospitality sector must be chosen for the jobs. The overall
personality of the individual along with necessary skills like communication and interactive
skills are to be tested properly by the managers.
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Effective training – The staff turnover at Hotel Travelodge can be reduced by focusing on the
psychological perspectives of the training delivered to the employees. The new recruits must be
made aware of the benefits of working with the organization. Moreover, the individual benefits
in terms of skill development and necessary experience they will receive by working with the
company are to be explained. The trainees must be encouraged to work as a family while being
in the organization and display examples of mutual cooperation (Wardle and Daruwalla, 2017).
Competitive salary scale – The Company also needs to provide a competitive salary for the
tasks performed by the employees. The Travelodge Hotel needs to review is salary structure for
employees along with incentives and other cash benefits that the employees receive. According
to Tsitskari et al. (2017), the employees are more likely to stick to an organization if they are
satisfied with the overall facilities along with the cat salaries they receive. The opportunities of
exhibiting their skills followed by the appropriate rewards also help the organization retain its
employees.
4.2 Developing an appropriate strategy for resolving a specific problem of labor
turnover with reference to Travelodge Hotel
The case scenario has described that the Hotel Travelodge has been facing some problems as the
employees were not clear about the responsibilities they hold. As a result of this, more
employees seemed to leave the organization and join another competitive company operating in
travel and tourism sector. As per the observations made by Nachmias et al. (2017), the team
members tend to switch which two other companies if they do not find their colleagues
compatible in terms of thinking and cooperative levels. Corporation building becomes very
difficult when the responsibilities are not made clear to the workers. The team leaders and
managers need to discuss the issue about employee turnover rate with the senior management as
it is a serious matter. Moreover, any delay in taking the right decision to curb this issue might
result into some more dangerous consequences in the upcoming future.
As per the case study details, the management level authorities of the Hotel must formulate a
specific set of roles and responsibilities to be performed by the employees. The responsibilities
must be provided in a proper balance and according to the skills possessed by the employees.
This is mainly because an individual is likely to perform in the best way if the responsibility is
assigned according to his area of expertise. According to Kikon and Karlsson, (2018), the senior
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